Joker 2's Alleged Test Screenings Reactions Have Us Excited For Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn
Some of the first reactions to Todd Phillips' "Joker: Folie á Deux" are arriving thanks to social media — and people are praising Lady Gaga's leading performance as Dr. Harleen Quinzel, the psychiatrist who ultimately transforms into the supervillain Harley Quinn. According to Joey Monda on X (formerly known as Twitter) — a well-known "Joker" superfan — test audiences allegedly said, "The film is super bloody, chaotic, aggressive, surrealistic, but somehow true to its essence. Gaga and Joaquin [Phoenix] are on the same level in performance."
People also commented on the fact that this film is a musical of sorts, marking a huge departure from the original dark drama "Joker," which came out in 2019. "The musical aspect is not presented in a conventional way," the test screening audiences purportedly said. "They sing, of course, but it works in a different pattern. Very risky, but f***ing genius." Monda concluded that audiences allegedly think the movie will be a crowd-pleaser as well as a critical darling: "Overall, the film seeks to balance itself to captivate both critics and the general public."
Sources say Lady Gaga is excellent in Joker 2
In an early review of the film posted on social media by a third party and reported by GoldDerby (via JoBlo), it's stated that "Joker: Folie á Deux" ranges from "chaotic" (especially the gory, bloody parts) to "surrealistic" (scenes shot in black and white. "It's also very political as you would expect from [the] 'Joker' franchise," the post continued. "The person I spoke with was mighty impressed but caution it's just on opinion."
According to the third party, "Gaga is indeed equal to Phoenix or even more [central.] No way to fraud her in supporting ... They both perform [songs] as a [duets] and some are just her singing." The apparent source also weighed in on the film's status as a musical: "Songs are mix of old songs and new ones. Old one are [sang] in one part of movie, new/original ones in another. It isn't all a singing movie. Famous characters appear in it. Some changes to lore since these movies are standalones from certain other DC franchise [sic]."
In the end, it seems as if Lady Gaga really stuns in the sequel. "Gaga's performance is said to be transformative and sensational," the third party concluded.
Lady Gaga's turn as Harley Quinn is highly anticipated
If these early reviews are accurate — and it's important to note that they are not from a confirmed source, but are essentially hearsay at this point — then fans are right to get excited about "Joker: Folie á Deux." In addition to Lady Gaga as Harley, the long-awaited sequel to writer-director Todd Phillips' 2019 standalone origin story will feature the return of Joaquin Phoenix, who took home the best actor Oscar in 2020 for his starring role as Arthur Fleck. The rest of the cast is rounded out by heavy hitters like Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, and Steve Coogan in unknown roles. Not much is known about the movie still, and fan theories about "Joker: Folie á Deux" are going wild as a result.
Another returning player is Hildur Guðnadóttir, the first film's composer who also took home an Oscar for her absolutely stunning score, and who previously teased what fans already suspected about the sequel — namely, that there's going to be a lot of music in it. Considering that the film is styled as a musical, this definitely makes sense, and Guðnadóttir likely has a lot of tricks up her sleeve. "Joker: Folie á Deux" will be released on October 4, 2024.